Online Freeroll Tournament - Early Stages (1 Viewer)

LotsOfChips

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About 20 minutes into a daily online Freeroll NLHE Tourney ($25 prize pool, no rebuys). Starting stacks 1500. Typically mostly passive players in these games, with a few random LAGs willing to bet the farm on any two cards, and a fair number of reasonably good and thoughtful players..

Hero stack = 3280, HJ-1 = 3608, CO = 1015, BU = 1505, SB = 2225, BB = 3280

Blinds 15/30. First three players fold, HJ-1 calls. Hero is in HJ, looks down at dream :ac::as:. Best action for maximum value?

Edit w/ additional info - no reads on/never played against any remaining players (have some info on one of the folded players).
 
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This is a $25 freeroll. I honestly dont believe there are many reasonably good players who would play for hours to win $7. Get it in and try to bait someone. Raising 3x or 4x is just going to induce a multiway pot. We need to stop giving players so much credit.. freerolls and micro buy ins get it in when you can. Have to take the stakes into play.
 
This is a $25 freeroll. I honestly dont believe there are many reasonably good players who would play for hours to win $7. Get it in and try to bait someone. Raising 3x or 4x is just going to induce a multiway pot. We need to stop giving players so much credit.. freerolls and micro buy ins get it in when you can. Have to take the stakes into play.

Good point. I don’t play online free tournaments. But given this context it might be worth a push here.
 
About 20 minutes into a daily online Freeroll NLHE Tourney ($25 prize pool, no rebuys). Starting stacks 1500. Typically mostly passive players in these games, with a few random LAGs willing to bet the farm on any two cards, and a fair number of reasonably good and thoughtful players..

Hero stack = 3280, HJ-1 = 3608, CO = 1015, BU = 1505, SB = 2225, BB = 3280

Blinds 15/30. First three players fold, HJ-1 calls. Hero is in HJ, looks down at dream :ac::as:. Best action for maximum value?

Edit w/ additional info - no reads on/never played against any remaining players (have some info on one of the folded players).
Raise 120-200. Folding is boring, so I go a little bigger here expecting HJ-1 (LoJack) to always call. I want to isolate the limper, but is someone else joins the party, that's ok too. Yes, raising bigger is telling, but nobody here is paying attention to that. Hell, you could probably make it 300-500 and still get calls.

If I am playing with smarter players, the 3X +1 for the call is my standard. These are the lowest of droolers, though.
 
This is a $25 freeroll. I honestly dont believe there are many reasonably good players who would play for hours to win $7. Get it in and try to bait someone. Raising 3x or 4x is just going to induce a multiway pot. We need to stop giving players so much credit.. freerolls and micro buy ins get it in when you can. Have to take the stakes into play.
This is the move for a safe flop, IMO (and you'll still get out drawn).
 
This is the move for a safe flop, IMO (and you'll still get out drawn).
Well, if this is a bad beat story, it shouldnt effect the correct play. (Of course, by default it's probably a bad beat story). By the way, I think shoving here is a TERRIBLE play, even in a freeroll. We want the most value for our premiums, and we just get too many folds by shoving 100 BB's into a single caller. We have to assume you are looking for the optimal play for the game somewhat ignoring the stakes, and not the fact that the opportunity cost of a freeroll is probably pretty high for most of us.

Just remember, whatever the buyin for your game is, that's somebody else's big blind. (this is not directed at you, @WedgeRock, I just quoted you for the top part).
 
Well, if this is a bad beat story, it shouldnt effect the correct play. (Of course, by default it's probably a bad beat story). By the way, I think shoving here is a TERRIBLE play, even in a freeroll. We want the most value for our premiums, and we just get too many folds by shoving 100 BB's into a single caller. We have to assume you are looking for the optimal play for the game somewhat ignoring the stakes, and not the fact that the opportunity cost of a freeroll is probably pretty high for most of us.

Just remember, whatever the buyin for your game is, that's somebody else's big blind. (this is not directed at you, @WedgeRock, I just quoted you for the top part).
With all due respect how can you ignore the stakes? A lot of freeroll players Like to get a big stack or bust out. The totality of the information we were given has to be considered. Im not saying My shove theory is the right way to play it if were generally talking. this is half a step up from play money. No one has anything invested. If i was playing i would be calling a shove with a big range. Any 2 cards over 10, any pairs, probably even most suited connectors...maybe even any 2 if something better came up. People in play money games might want to play like it was real money but as soon as someone jams you know theres usually at least one that comes for the ride. Id even say this is true in most Micro stakes Games
 
In a freeroll I think you have a lot of room to play very exploitatively. Normally is raise to 4x in the early levels with a limper ahead, but I think in an online freeroll you can really go for max value by making it like 6-10x and you very likely still get the action you want.
 
With all due respect how can you ignore the stakes? A lot of freeroll players Like to get a big stack or bust out. The totality of the information we were given has to be considered. Im not saying My shove theory is the right way to play it if were generally talking. this is half a step up from play money. No one has anything invested. If i was playing i would be calling a shove with a big range. Any 2 cards over 10, any pairs, probably even most suited connectors...maybe even any 2 if something better came up. People in play money games might want to play like it was real money but as soon as someone jams you know theres usually at least one that comes for the ride. Id even say this is true in most Micro stakes Games
That is a fair statement in that it is looking at the player field...and surely assumptions can be made on player field based on stakes. If you are pretty sure that this player field will call a shove with any two, then I agree that shove is the correct play.

Too often, people will say..."fuck it, it's just a freeroll', and give bad advise because they don't respect the stakes the hero is playing.

I do not play freerolls, so I can only assume what the player field is like.

I do play micro MTT's, and I disagree with your player pool tendencies for them. Sure, sometimes you will see weird plays....but most of the time you are better off trying for multiple streets to get the money in when north of 100BBs.
 
I really think people give other players way more credit then they should. Most people play for fun, play for entertainment, to gamble. The average player looks at his 2 cards and decides what to do off of that. They dont put others on ranges etc. UTG who hasnt played a hand other than his blinds in 3 or 4 orbits Opens for 4x. HJ who has been asleep the last hour puts in a big raise. Folds to the bb who sees KJ, AJ and thinks its christmas. Lets be honest with ourselves stakes matter. The lower the stakes generally the easier the game and more bad players
 
The lower the stakes generally the easier the game and more bad players

This is true.

I was dorking around with 2c/5c last night on P*. I was holding AT and raised pre, hit an ace on the flop and bet, 1 caller. Bet again on the blank turn and got called. I made two pair on the river and shoved for $4.

I got called by pocket queens.
 
Good discussion so far, especially surrounding the player motivation and experience of Freeroll player pool, and whether that should influence strategy. Thanks to all.

Moving on...

Blinds 15/30. First three players fold, HJ-1 calls. Hero is in HJ, looks down at dream :ac::as:.

In this player pool, I've seen others jam and get called by 4 other players (anything from 44+ to 89s might call a jam), and other times a min raise will kill all the action. No rhyme or reason that I can see.

My thinking is that limping is -EV, and I haven't seen any real crazy loose PF raisers yet. Jamming might get a caller, but might just scare everyone away. So I raise 4x (120).

CO calls. BU, SB & BB fold, limping HJ-1 calls. Pot = 405

Flop comes :2h::3s::8d:. HJ-1 checks, action to Hero.

Edit - remaining stacks Hero = 3160, CO = 895, LJ = 3488

Time to shove? Substantial bet to set the hook? Check and hope for the opportunity to XR?
 
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Flop bet of 300 - 400, leaning toward 300.

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Great flop, but many more players than we wanted. I think our goal is still to get stacks in. Never checking here....must bet. I like a slight over bet to 500. Only (reasonable) hands that beat us are the sets. Would love to see 99 or TT here get frisky.
 
Good discussion so far, especially surrounding the player motivation and experience of Freeroll player pool, and whether that should influence strategy. Thanks to all.

Moving on...

Blinds 15/30. First three players fold, HJ-1 calls. Hero is in HJ, looks down at dream :ac::as:.

In this player pool, I've seen others jam and get called by 4 other players (anything from 44+ to 89s might call a jam), and other times a min raise will kill all the action. No rhyme or reason that I can see.

My thinking is that limping is -EV, and I haven't seen any real crazy loose PF raisers yet. Jamming might get a caller, but might just scare everyone away. So I raise 4x (120).

CO calls. BU, SB & BB fold, limping HJ-1 calls. Pot = 405

Flop comes :2h::3s::8d:. HJ-1 checks, action to Hero.

Edit - remaining stacks Hero = 3160, CO = 895, LJ = 3488

Time to shove? Substantial bet to set the hook? Check and hope for the opportunity to XR?

I bet 250-350, hoping the CO shoves all-in thinking their pair of 6's is the nuts and we are just c-betting AK (cause let's be honest, they always put us on AK)
 
Consensus seems to be a bet in the range of 300, which is exactly what I bet.

Blinds 15/30. First three players fold, HJ-1 calls. Hero is in HJ, looks down at dream :ac::as:. I raise 4x (120).

CO calls. BU, SB & BB fold, limping HJ-1 calls. Pot = 405

Flop comes :2h::3s::8d:. HJ-1 checks, action to Hero. Remaining stacks Hero = 3160, CO = 895, LJ = 3488

Action to this point is pretty standard, but here is where it gets a bit more interesting...

Hero bets 300. CO folds. LJ (HJ -1) check-raises to 1305. Action to hero...

Does he have pocket 2/3/8's for the dreaded set? Did he call the PF raise with something stupid like 2-3/2-8/3-8 for two pair? Does he have an overpair and thinks he's beating my AK? Is he just trying to push me off the pot with air?

WTF do I do here w/ AA?
 
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call down. Hopefully he stacks off with 89. If not, gg.
Of course, he has way more hands than this in his range that we beat. Like I said earlier, we want somebody with 99 or TT to get out of line. This could be it. Why such a big raise? Seems like a hand that wants folds.
 

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